If Life is a Lottery – Let\’s All Take a Chance… But if Life is a Monkey, Let That Monkey Dance!

ALLAN RINDE R.I.P. ROCK IN PERPETUITY!

December 16, 2012

Here’s the tribute to my longtime friend, Allan Rinde, who passed away on friday. He was a former publicist, the west coast editor of Cashbox magazine, head of West Coast A&R at Columbia Records, (who was behind Billy Joel’s first hit “Piano Man”), the man who helped to break “Jesus Christ Superstar”, and owner of “Genghis Cohen”, one of Hollywood’s top restaurants, which I named and hosted for many years.

(i’m still not able to use my hands or even type with one finger so i’m reposting articles from my blog and chapters from my autobiography in which allan appears. it is followed by comments, stories, and pictures from other friends of his.)

“In the fall of 1968 I wrote a special press release for my new album as “Shadow” Mann, on the label my partner Kelli Ross and I co – own with the nefarious Morris Levy! I walk up Broadway to 57thstreet to Cashbox magazine. I give my three page release to the new guy who’s just started to work there, a former publicist, Allan Rinde. He glances at it as I hype him on all the excitement going on at my company and how Morris Levy is going to make me the new Tommy James! When he hands it back to me it has a C- at the top with a few grammatical errors circled, I realize this asshole has actually graded my paper! I hold my tongue and tell him I’ll bring it back “corrected” before his deadline.

The next morning I bring in the revised press release. Allan finds it acceptable and puts it in the magazine. Through gritted teeth I thank him for his suggestions and invite him to have dinner that night with my producer Ronnie Haffkine and me at the Roundtable, a hot night club that Morris Levy owns. On our way downstairs to be seated, a belligerent drunk sees me in my Black Suede Shadow outfit with a giant red eagle on the back, then pushes me out of the way! When he makes a nasty comment. Two tough guys suddenly appear, throw him down the stairs, and ask, “Are you all right, Mr. Shadow?”I brush myself off, pick up my black floppy Shadow hat from the floor; compose myself as the tough guys ask what should they do with him? I benevolently say, “Let ‘em go…this time,”. As soon as they eject him from the club, a somewhat impressed Allan and I join Ronnie at my usual table.”

When my friend, the Father Of Woodstock, Artie Kornfeld invited me to the festival in 1969, I thought it was going to be a great picnic, I wasn’t expecting a life changing experience!Back in 1967 my wife Sheilah was working at Mercury records as a secretary to Artie Kornfield (“Pied Piper”, “Dead Man’s Curve”) We hung out a lot with Artie and his wife Linda. When we got divorced I got the dog and she got the Kornfelds!

Then one day Sheilah calls me up to tell me that she’s working with Artie again. It seems that he and his partner Michael Lang are putting on a music and art festival at the end of August in upstate NY at a place called Woodstock, and she’s his personal assistant. It sounds a bit disorganized, but I don’t say anything, if anyone can pull it together, they can.It’s 3 hours before Allan Rinde and Rick Bolsom, from Mercury Records, Lita Eliscu a freelance writer (Rolling Stone), Cookie the groupie, and I are scheduled to go up to the Woodstock Music and Art festival. Artie Kornfeld and Michael Lang, are having serious troubles getting permits and have to change locations to Max Yasgur’s farm in Bethel, NY, at the last minute.

Unfortunately, I’m having serious problems of my own, I can’t score any grass to take to the event!As a last resort I call my friend Heather MacRae, who’s currently starring in the smash hit, “Hair” On Broadway. She must know someone in the “Hippie” cast who can help us out. She leaves our names at the backstage door with a note to go upstairs to see her friends, James Rado and Gerome Ragni, who co-wrote the musical.

When we walk into Rado and Ragni’s dressing room, they look at Allan and me suspiciously, with cameras hanging around our necks, and tape recorders dangling from our shoulders. I laugh and nervously explain that we’re not cops or from the press trying to get a story, and show them our Woodstock press pass. Fortunately they believe us and when we tell them our “predicament”, they sell us a “lid” from their personal stash (at cost) and hand us a couple of capsules of mescaline for free, in the spirit of “Peace and Love”. We thank them and go to the garage to pick up Allan’s Oldsmobile Cutlass, and our friends, then we head off for our weekend adventure.”

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“Let The Sun Shine…Let The Sun Shine In…The Sun Shine In!”

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The festival gets off to a great start with a set by Ritchie Havens, and then it starts to rain … and rain … and rain. There’s a buzz already that this is going to be a historic event. The press tent is alive with anticipation of seeing the artists and people behind the scenes.I’m skeptical when I hear that a lawyer is taking over as head of Columbia Records, until I meet Clive Davis awash in the rain, the mud, and the good vibrations. How cool it is for the head of a record company to be out here “roughing it” like this with his artists!Although my friends and I have warm, dry accommodations, food, water, and plenty of intoxicants, a half a million other people who are also here have to rough it in the mud and the rain!

We run into a completely soaked (and delightfully stoned) Artie Kornfeld, The Father Of Woodstock, who tells us that thousands of people are crashing the gates, and Woodstock has become a free concert! Starry eyed and drooling, he turns around and melts back into the crowd.Thousands of people are still pouring in after midnight and I warn my friends that we were probably going to be in the middle of a riot between the “haves” and the “have nots!”I knew that this whole “Peace and Love” thing could blowup in a minute … but no one is listening to me as they slowly pass the bong around. I don’t know if it’s my paranoia of “Drug Crazed Hippies” rushing the motel or my fear of getting my new Fry boots dirty … I just knew I had to get the hell outa’ there!After being at Woodstock less than 24 hours, I say goodbye to my friends and decide to hitchhike back to the city.

I’m 27 yeas old but, hitchhiking is something I never tried before. At the side of an on ramp, I see Vince Aletti, writer for the Village Voice, who I know from the press parties I crash. He has his thumb out and looks pretty discouraged. This is his first time hitchhiking, too … but I act like a veteran and convince him that if we put on great big smiles, and act sincere … we’re bound to get a ride! In less than 10 minutes we’re picked up by a guy in an old Chevy wagon, who happens to be going all the way into the city! Just like the guys who rode the rails and became “Boxcar Buddies”, Vince and I had a shared experience that went “without a hitch”, so to speak, “Hitchhiking pals” for the rest of our lives!Finally, I’m back in my apartment, thankful to be away from all of those people … I don’t believe all those people … Damn! It’s still early, so I pack my duffel bag and grab a subway out to Coney Island, stopping only long enough to swallow a little capsule Rado and Ragni, had given me.

I don’t know why, but the rest of the day is magical! I feel so much love for Everyone I run into. I don’t even notice that I’m surrounded by a million people on the beach … twice as many as there was at Woodstock … but now … somehow I don’t care!”

“Forty years ago, I was general professional manager of Warner Bros. Music, living in Hollywood, when my friend Don Williams, who held a similar position at MCA music, played me an acetate of “Jesus Christ Superstar”and I freaked out!!! My instinct told me …this was going to be a phenomenon!!! I asked Don to play it for Allan Rinde, the beloved head of Columbia records A+R dept….he was as excited as we were and proceded to hold listening parties…that included all of the underground tastemakers of the time.MCA credits us with breaking the album. I hope Tim and Andy have forgiven me for trying to talk them out of writing “Evita”…..Who would go to see a show about an ex-dictators wife anyway?”

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“If it sounds like I’m dropping names…I am! Bruce Willis, Sarah Jessica Parker, Will Smith, Barbra Streisand, Johnny Depp, Rod Stewart, Luther Vandross, Sean Penn, Jodie Foster, and Forrest Whitaker were just a few of our customers.On any given night, I could walk into Genghis Cohen, the Hollywood hot spot I named and hosted, and feel like I was walking onto a movie set. While my friend Allan Rinde, who owned the restaurant, was making sure every customer was having a wonderful Chinese dining experience, I was paying a little extra attention to the stars. It was about this time that I had begun working with 3- dimensional acrylic fabric paint to create a new look for myself. I started enhancing old Hawaiian Shirts with 3-dimensional acrylic paint…which patrons bought right off my back! It wasn’t long before I had a profitable little sideline.

I remember while recording across the street at Cherokee studios, Bruce Willis and his producer, Robert Kraft would come in for egg rolls during breaks. This was during the end of the run of his hit TV show “Moonlighting” when Bruce was also performing around town with his blues band doing vocals and playing harmonica. From the conversations I had with him, I found out he liked blues and early Rock And Roll singers, so I made a special shirt for him of his favorites who passed away. It was called the “Rock and Roll Heaven” Shirt, based on the classic song my friend Alan Day wrote with the late Johnny Stevenson.It was a black T-shirt, ripped a bit here and there, with with a stenciled “Heaven” on the front, with hand painted signatures of his favorite artists. I happened to give it to him on the same night he signed a 7 million dollar endorsement for Seagrams Whiskey. To be perfectly honest, later when he thanked me and said goodnight, I don’t think that the patented smirk he was wearing on his face was for the shirt!

Another actor/ musician who would drop in from time to time, was Johnny Depp. He owned a club up on the Sunset Strip, “The Viper Room”, and whenever he had yen for Chinese food he’d come down to Genghis. The first night I met him, we talked about music. Then I asked if he would mind if I asked him a personal question? “Can I see the tattoo?”The tattoo I was talking about was a hot topic in all the tabloids. When Johnny broke up with Wynonna Ryder, he altered a tattoo he had on his arm that said “Wynonna Forever” to say “Wino Forever”. When he rolled up his sleeve and showed me, I knew he was cool!

On another night when I came into work, I saw Sarah Jessica Parker and Robert Downey, Jr. sitting at a tiny table for 2 in the middle of an empty restaurant!When they finished dinner, I sat with them and told them how much I enjoyed Sarah in “Girls Just Wanna’ Have Fun” and Robert in “Weird Science”. They told me that they appreciated how they were treated at Genghis Cohen. Other restaurants, wanted them to get in and out because they weren’t of drinking age and could only spend so much. I told them whenever you or your friends wanted to come in just call me. I assured them that “At Genghis Cohen, your wish…Is your problem!”They laughed and not only became restaurant regulars, but became enthusiastic supporters of my wearable art.One night Sarah was trying on one of my creations in the wine room at Genghis Cohen. She dresses and flicks off the light switch but it’s NOT the switch for the closet it’s the switch for the ENTIRE restaurant! Allan throws open the door, turns the darkened restaurant lights back on and GLARES at me. Sarah confesses and Allan smiles…after all who can stay mad at Sarah Jessica Parker?

Mike Melvoin at the piano “When I first moved to California thirty years ago and worked for Warner Brothers Music, I wanted to give back to the music community, so I joined the National Academy of the Recording Arts and Sciences, where an enthusiastic active member, Mike Melvoin took me under his wing.I never worked with him in the studio, but as a music fan, I knew that he was considered one of the best keyboardists in Los Angeles.In addition to being one of the best Jazz players in the business, he played on such Pop classics as Frank Sinatra’s “That’s Life,” Natalie Cole’s “Unforgettable,” the Jackson 5′s “ABC,” and “Pet Sounds” and “Good Vibrations” by the Beach Boys as well as Helen Reddy’s “I Am Woman,” John Lennon’s “Stand By Me,” Barbra Streisand’s “Evergreen” and Quincy Jones’ all-star collective, “We Are the World.”Although I was a New Yorker and considered an outsider to the closely knit LA music scene, Mike helped me gain a foothold in the creative community.

At the time, NARAS, was criticized for having an aging membership, being out of touch with contemporary music and accused of giving out Grammys to the wrong people. Mike supported me in an effort to attract younger voters and helped me, producer Nik Venet (“The Beach Boys), Columbia Records A&R Man, Allan Rinde, and songwriter Van Dyke Parks (“Heroes and Villans”) form listening sessions around the country to play new recordings and artists for our members, so they could vote more knowledgably.It wasn’t long before NARAS was respected again as the premier music organization and rivaled the new kid on the block, THE AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS in the TV ratings!

Soon after Mike Melvoin and I were elected to the Board Of Governors, we traveled around the country, New York, Atlanta and Nashville on behalf of NARAS. It was right after the Civil Rights Movement and while traveling through the south there were times when Mike had to soothe my hurt feelings whenever I encountered the stinging barbs of racism…which I never forgot.Mike went on to become the first musician to become President of the Academy and through the years remained active in the organization. The LA TIMES reported. In 2011, when the Academy made changes in the Grammy awards structure. Melvoin was in the vanguard of the movement to rescind the category changes. As a pianist whose career had touched every stylistic era, he was especially bothered by the effect of the changes upon instrumentalists.“Everyone who has ever played an instrument,” he said in a public statement, “has had the possibility of receiving recognition from the Grammys gutted. That cannot and will not stand!”

January 23, 2011

When I sat down to write about The Troubadour Family Reunion last Monday night, I decided to let some of the people who were there tell about it in their own words.

Photographer/ artist, “Lezlie Sokol”, a former waitress at the club and one of the organizers of the event, had this to say,“The music and the love that was with us decades ago was with us again on Monday night. It wasn’t a re-creation…it was a continuation. We all came together with the spirit that was The Troubadour, those times and we people who were there were re-animated and Doug Weston’s dream came alive within all of us for one more magical night!”Photographer/ musician Henry Diltz Reminisced, “The Troubadour was my old stomping ground starting in 1962 when my folk group, The Modern Folk Quartet, played there 3 days after we arrived from Honolulu. We were signed to an agency and record company from that one performance.At the reunion the other night we were able to reconnect with many old and dear friends. We are all the same young age in our minds as we were those years ago, but now we look like our parents and grandparents. Many of us who were musicians went with the Troubadour waitresses back then, and I had a drink at the bar with my old girlfriend, Alexa, a former waitress. The live music at the reunion was epic stuff as Bob Lind, Van Dyke Parks, Jackson Browne, Rick Cuna, David Jackson, Michael McGuiness, Ruthann Friedman and others took the stage.I remember photographing Bob Lind in the room which is now the bar but was then McCabe’s guitar shop. It’s a rare thing these days to walk into a bar and find it full of people you know…just like the good old days.”Allan Rinde, former “underground tastemaker” and Chinese Restaurateur said, “Aside from seeing a few old friends I’d lost contact with and meeting some new ones, there was just this sense of energy at Doug Weston’s Troubadour (glad they kept his name on it) that made this evening a great success. Of course it all dissipated the next day when I realized that while I was having a good time at the good old Troub, Don Kirchner lay dying in a hospital in Boca Raton. Oh, the humanity! And one more thing: thank you Jackson for the tribute to Warren Zevon and for the love you put into your set that night.Publicist Bobbi Cowan commented, “It was an amazing evening, full of surprises and warm memories and feelings. One of the best was seeing you there, along with Allan, Kimble and Patti, Billy James, Ronnie Haffkine, Ochs and Sandee, and so many of our pals from way back when.

The music was AWESOME, particularly Van Dyke Parks and Jackson, and it made me feel like those magical days and nights were not a distant dream, but TRULY real. Somebody should put a documentary together with the stories from so many of the colorful and funny people who helped to create this business we once loved (and subsequently watched dissolve in the greed of the last 20-30 years.)Former KMET DJ Richard Kimble chimed in, “It looked like a meeting of the aarp, rock division”…….”It’s the only time I’ve gone to the Troub and remembered being there”…..Hey I’m here all week, try the veal!!!!!!!”Producer Ron Haffkine (Dr.Hook, Shel Silverstein) remarked, “What a blast!!! as I posted on fb before the event, I really believe that some of the success of the reunion had to do with Artie working hard letting people know about it….I think we all know that when Artie promotes something, things happen….I couldn’t have had a better time….Ran into someone from the very first act I ever produced..Long time ago…Also one of the members of DR HOOK that I hadn’t seen in a while…I flew in from Nashville just for this reunion and to see some of my dear friends that I don’t get to see often enough….Hope there’s another one sooner rather than later…I don’t want to be on that list just inside the door….”The list that Ron is referring to is one with names of people who are no longer with us who had a link to the Troubadour (This list will be posted on the official reunion website.)The evening’s host Larry Murray said “Amazing..Grace! Heartfelt thanx to all who made it a nite to be cherished..organizers..performers..audience..lounge lizards.. and the eternal spirit of the Troubadour… for making my nite an absolute ‘Holy Hoot’ !!!”Publicist/ cyclist Billy James, seen here with singer/ songwriter Penny Nichols’ … Photographer/guitar maker Loni Specter exclaimed, “Artie it was so good to see you and Allan Rinde there! So many faces I thought I’d never see again. A truly frightening experience! It was a great night indeed!”Songwriter/former member of the Association, Terry Kirkman reflected, “I had a good time but was somewhat disappointed at the low turn out of performers. I wish there had been some forum provided for shared stories. what surprised me most, though, was that after an hour of making the round and reading the nametags I found the number of familiar old time regulars to be enough to give me a true blue de ja vu….with my feelings for those there very much the same as I remember them being all those years ago…. like thumbing through an album of pictures….. nodding acquaintances mostly…. just a couple of real honest to goodness friends…but very, very glad I went…very glad I got to share it with my wife who was not around here in those days. i wish we’d had time to talk, artie…maybe next time around. god bless.”Music publisher Don Williams exclaimed, “It was a very special evening the Troubadour Reunion this past Monday. Thank youfor putting the story on your web page and giving the emphasis needed to ensure success. I had a wonderful time”Naomi Riopelle, another one of the organizers of the Reunion remarked, “I think the idea was to gather together and perhaps to relive a memory of a time and place, with the music and the people that in a very significant way helped to shape our lives and make us who we are…whether or not we realized it back then . I believe we succeeded……”Bass player Colin Cameron smiled and said, “It seems an unbroken circle finally completed its rounds at the Reunion, as my music career and post-Vietnam service civilian life really began with the people I met at the Troubadour, and the many great acts I was able to listen to there. It was a joy to see so many of them once again.”Finally here’s my pal from the past journalist/blogger Todd Everett with the wrap-up for the evening,“It was one of the most amazing nights of my life! I have heard so much love and joy expressed about the success of this event and how beautifully it brought back a time in a place that was so brilliant in it’s day. No place on earth ever rivaled what happened at Doug Weston’s Troubadour ever! How blessed we all have been to have been there then and then again last Monday night.Like most of us, I didn’t know what to expect from the Troubadour Family Reunion. But several people I knew would be coming — mostly people I saw fairly often, but an indication of quality. So at the very least it would be worthwhile on that level.As it turned out, of course, the thing had become a real event. I’ll name some of the people I knew; I’m sure others had the same experience with people they knew.Maureen Donaldson (shown with Sandee Lewis Ochs), bless her soul, had come in from England; she swears specifically for the event. Matt Kramer had no other reason I know of for having returned to West Hollywood from wherever it is he’s living these days (Texas, I think), and former hoot master Roger Perry arrived from Oregon. Artie Wayne, whom I sadly didn’t see this time, and Richard Kimball, whom I did, had come in from the desert. Michael Ochs took time from promoting the documentary about his late brother, and counting his own money. I knew it was the Troubadour bar, I told them, when the first faces I saw were Michael, and Alan Rinde.By the time I left – 11:30 or so – Alan, Artie and several others had already retreated to Genghis Cohen, the restaurant Alan had owned, and Artie named and hosted for however many years (has he ever mentioned that?).Though the layout of the main room has changed quite a bit — much larger stage; no tables; bar in the back — it was familiar enough that I might have been back in the ’70s, which was pretty much my era, though years earlier I’d driven 60 miles down the coast from Ventura to see acts including the Dillards (with Roger Miller opening), when the stage was still at what’s now the left-hand wall.I spent half an hour or so in the bar, meeting old pals and choking on a piece of cheese; when Lezlie asked for a glass of water for me, the guy behind our end of the bar said we’d have to go to the woman at the other end. If I’d died from asphyxiation, my survivors would stand to make a fortune! Oddly, when I recovered, he was able to sell me a drink without consulting the other bartender. Ah, the Troubadour!I’ll let others get into the acts – Van Dyke, Jackson, and so on; but will add that I was very impressed by two “second generation” groups, fronted by people whose parents had (in one case sort of) worked at the Troubadour. Paul Riopelle, whose mother Naomi was a long-time waitress at the club, was in a rock band called The Motion with Steven Wolfson and Dsvid Jenkins; the three members of Blackfire are all the progeny of Berta Benally, who was more of an Ash Grove person, really, but was right at home in this company. Native Americans of the Navajo nation, Blackfire is more “indian” than Redbone, and played a strong mix of contemporary, punk and traditional music. Had I a label (and everybody can be thankful I don’t), I’d sign them in a minute. As it stands, they already record; their more recent album produced by Ed Stasium, whose credits include the Ramones, Talking Heads and Smithereens. In other words, they need no help from me, even if I were in a position to give it to ‘em.One disappointment: three members of Hearts & Flowers were present: Larry Murray, Rick Cunha and David Jackson. But they didn’t see fit to reconvene, even though Jackson did back Cunha on a solo set, along with anybody else who needed a bass player.That, too, was just like the old days.”—

to Coleen M. Pumfrey for the photo of the Troubadour signSpecial thanks to “Lezlie Sokol” and Sally Stevens for helping me with this article. .Copyright 2011 by Artie Wayne- https://artiewayne.wordpress.com/about-artie-wayne/for those might not have recognized me at the reunion with my beard…I shaved

copyright 2011 by artie wayne

The first time I met songwriter Toni Wine (“Candida”, “Tonight You’re Gonna’ Fall In Love With Me”) she was only 14 years old and we were both staff writers for Don Kirshner at ALDON MUSIC.Over the years we remained friends and occasionally worked together.

Back in 1966, when I was writing songs and producing for Scepter Records, my friend Stanley Greenberg who was head of A+R asked me to rehearse a new act he was producing, Diane and Anita.Although we went into the studio with my song, “One By One” as the A-Side, the song that Toni Wine brought Stanley, “A Groovy Kind of Love”, which she co-wrote with Carol Bayer Sager came out of the studio clearly the winner! I’m proud to say that ours was the first recording of the classic, which was followed by two number one records, one by the Mindbenders the other by Phil Collins http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsC_SARyPzk

Jack Gold Allan and I spent many an hour talking about our hobby, collecting movie posters. He was an all class guy, RIP Allen. I just learned of his passing by my friend Chris Crist who now lives in Palm Springs.

When a human passes away it takes three days for the spirit to leave the earth and make a transition to the other side. When a pet passes away the process takes the same amount of time.The pet is more confused at first, but becomes more accepting of what’s going on when they are reunited with their animal friends on the other side, who are there to help with the crossover.

The pet is happy to go back “home”, unless they’ve formed an exceptionally strong bond with their earthly caretaker, which makes them want to stay on earth a little longer to make sure their “human” is going to be all right without them.

We can be assured, that these little spirits will be watching out for us for the rest of our lives. I can attest that many long gone animal friends have come back to me in dreams, meditations, and semi-darkened rooms, during times of stress or loneliness and helped me get through the agony of it all.

As I’m sitting on the patio by the hummingbird feeder my little pal, Larry, flies by and I can almost feel his wings sympathetically touch my knee as I weep for my little pal Streaker, who had to be put down a few days ago or face a long painful illness.When my friend, Allan Rinde moved to Nashville to get married to singer/songwriter Toni Wine, he asked me to take care of his little calico cat, Streaker and her boyfriend, a 23 lb. white tom called Whoppy, because his future wife was allergic.

For the past 14 years Allan has paid for their food, toys, and thousands of dollars in medical expenses. When Whoppy passed two and a half years ago, “Streak” and I became closer sharing my pillow, as well as a place at the dinner table. About a year ago, after Allan got a divorce he offered to rent me a couple of rooms in his house in Palm Springs, where we’ve lived ever since.

Although he hadn’t spent much with her over the last decade, Streaker loved Allan and when we all lived together “Streak” would sit in front of his computer, all night long acting as his assistant. While Allan spoiled her with gourmet cat food, exotic toys, and even a recirculating water fountain, I kept her paws on the ground by yelling, “ARE YOU CRAZY?”, and sentences ending in “ucker”, whenever she got out of line.

I close my eyes, visualize her and tell her that it’s time for her to go and I’m going to be alright. Whoppy, who’s come back to escort her “home”, looks contented, but Streaker give me one last look goodbye…then sadly walks away.I want to call out, “Don’t go!”, but the three day window of transition is closing fast and if they don’t leave now they could become trapped between here and the other side for eternity!

As I sit weeping, my little friends disappear into the morning…and a few minutes later Larry the hummingbird reappears to introduce me to his new girlfriend. He senses that this isn’t a good time, and they both bolt off into a sky full of fluffy white clouds.As I watch them leave, I gaze up, and for a few minutes watch the clouds change forms, as clouds are known to do.

I smile as I see likenesses of all the animal friends I’ve had in my life, Waldo, my parakeet in grade school, my aunt Wan’s dogs Fluffy and Queenie, who protected me from bullies, Chipper, the little spitz, who turned nasty and had his name changed to Al for Al Capone, then when he became nice again, changed it back to Chipper!There was Walter, who led my grandmother to safety through a fire, Duke, Harold, Pete, Tippy, and of course, my little Cairn Terrier Nookie, my companion for 12 years.

Even though I know Streaker’s in good company…it doesn’t mean I’m going to miss her any less….but seeing Whoppy and Streaker playing together again in the clouds, and in my medical marajuana tinted memories is inspiring and proof positive that true love lives forever.

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Goodbye my monkey friends…until we meet again.Love Artie

l to r Sheilah Kent, Artie Wayne, and Allan Rinde

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Thank you Allan, you’ve done so much for so many…especially me…may you ROCK IN PERPETUITY!

Sadly. Artie

P.S. HERE ARE A FEW OF THE COMMENTS THAT HAVE COME IN FROM SOME OF ALLAN’S FRIENDS…

It’s so hard to believe that Alan is gone. How lucky Ronnie, Sunny, and I were to have shared a fun loving recent dinner with Allan in my home.

Joel Diamond

From comments on FACEBOOK…

Thank you Artie, this trip across Memory Lane was very enjoyable. Too bad that it had to be prompted by the passing of one of the Nicest, Finest, Gentleman who ever graced the Halls that Hunter Thomson spoke so disparagingly of. Goodbye OUR friend you were simply “THA BEST” R.I.P.

jerry heller

Ron Haffkine Very hard to get through reading this and realizing again that Allan is gone…Every time one of us passes away a piece of our history goes with him or her…Knowing the realities of life sure doesnt make it any easier to accept….

Ken Schaffer Director of West Coast A&R for Columbia, Allan got subsumed, perhaps too deeply, into the spirit of an office Christmas party and gently – lovingly, without a bone the balance – lobbed a cream pie in his secretary’s face. Apparently, she was less in the spirit… the creampuff got Allan got fired.

I flew into LA a couple of years after Allan got the ole’ CBS boot … happy to be going the next day to a big party at Don Williams’ fabulous but forever unfurnished estate in Encino.

“And Rinde is doing the cooking!” – people said that to me with all the pride that might befit a promise of Racquel Welch giving blow jobs. “Rinde?!!!” “Rinde cooking?!” I was incredulous.

As my roommate in New York for a couple of years before the creampuff incident, Allan had, like so many of our other music business friends [no names], defected to the West Coast; I even used to describe Los Angeles as the Badlands “… where everybody who blew it in New York moved to to start over again.”

The point though: when Allan lived with me, he couldn’t boil a freaking kettle of water without somehow melting the bottom of the kettle. we went through a lot of teapots.

They say if you are dealt lemons – make lemonade. To his credit, instead of grieving over the loss of his corner office, Allan had gone on – unbelievably – to take, of all things, WTF!, Chinese cooking lessons. By the time I arrived arrived for the party, his epicurean skills had become legendary in Hollywood and West LA. He’d even gone so far as to open a restaurant… the restaurant he opened became The spot in LA.

I’m broken up about Allan’s death. But lemons into lemonade: I’ll forever crack up reliving the look on Allan’s face (exasperated) every time (this went on for years) I referred to Genghis’ as “GENGHIS COHEN’S KOSHER CHINESE” — as only best friends can.

Louise Luna Hi Artie – thank you for letting us know about Allan – very sad news indeed. I can’t count the hours (or martinis) spent at Genghis Cohen and Allan always so friendly as one walked through the door and you right in view. R.I.P. Allan….R.I.P.

IN MEMORY OF ALLAN RINDE I’D LIKE TO GIVE A FREE COPY OF MY BOOK, “I DID IT FOR A SONG” TO ANYONE WHO KNEW HIM OR WOULD’VE LIKED TO HAVE KNOWN HIM. JUST E-MAIL ME AT artiewayne@gmail.com Above photo by Pamela Kath Soloman “i want to let you know about my friend allan rinde, who died this weekend. allan rinde was a wonderful, wonderful man who was way ahead of his time when it came to knowing his music, and knowing his food. when i first moved to los angeles for newsweek, we played volleyball together on the venice beach.but he really loved music. when i reported the cover story for newsweek on bruce springsteen, allan was a close advisor. (he also worked for columbia records) he and i both hung with billy joel before billy was on anyone’s radar. he fancied himself a chinese food expert, and then proved it by going to china, finding a chef and opening his restaurant — with a great name — ghengis cohen, on fairfax avenue in los angeles. i was one of the first ones in the door. and everyone in the music business was right there with me. artie wayne, who i knew from his days in music publishing (and volleyball) came in as the host. and every top musician and record company executive in town came there for dinner of crackerjack shrimp, mabu beef, and other specialties — and in one corner of the restaurant, if you listened closely, you were entertained. on one night you’d hear the familiar guitar riffs of taj mahal, or the distinct tone of joni mitchell. no, it wasn’t someone’s playlist. it WAS taj mahal or joni mitchell! so many solo artists and groups played there before anyone knew who they were. it was part of allan’s magic that the artists would come to the restaurant, and music executives would somehow discover them over a dinner of cold sesame noodles….last night, when i heard that allan had died, i went back to genghis cohen for dinner. many familiar faces were at the bar to toast his memory. it’s been thirty years since allan opened the restaurant, and last night, in the corner, there was another music group playing. i didn’t get their name, but if history is any indication, we’ll all know them soon. but i consider myself lucky…i knew allan rinde and he will be missed. Peter Greenberg Travel editor cbs news

ARTIE
I TRULY LOVED ALLAN RINDE,
I HAD NOT SEEN HIM FOR A LONG
TIME. WE WERE FRIENDS
BACK IN THE DAY ,HE WAS
A BIG FAN OF A LOT OF
THE ARTISTS I SIGNED,
AND I WOULD INVITE HIM
TO THE CONCERTS.
HE WAS A GREAT MUSIC
MAN,AND A GREAT GUY!!
LOTS OF LOVE!!
Russ Regan

Artie, Thank you for your recollections. As you and his family of friends know well, Alllan was one of a kind; generious to a fault.
I, one of many I’m sure, was the beneficiary of his unselfish kindness, good nature and guidance.

I know Allan from those NY Cashbox days also, I feel like, in terms of our career paths, we grew up together. He was a loyal and loving friend and a talented lifemeister. A more generous soul could not be found. I will always miss him. My heart is breaking to think of life without him.

Artie, I know it’s hard for you to write something new about your extraordinary relationship with Allan, so thank you for sending these chapters…It’s hard for me to write about Allan, too, as I loved him dearly, first as a boyfriend, then, and much more, as my friend. Allan had a heart so big it’s hard to imagine him gone, as his sweetness and generosity lives so large in so many of his friends over so many years. As Richard said, he leaves a huge hole in our universe, and even as his his spirit soars into another existence, it will be missed here in our world. He will be remembered and loved even in his physical absence fro our lives.
xxx
Bobbi

i feel the same way bobbie .. i met allan in NYC AT THE SCENE CLUB … with cleo and we all became friends.. he got us a record deal with alan lorber to do an album about musicans .. we called it the Groupies…we went on to do
david susskind show and then the alan burke show !!! … we were friends forever… i would go and stay with him at kens in NREW YORK and hung in LA with him … i miss him solife won’t be the same with out him !!! i love you allan!!!… cookie

Artie, I’m truly sorry for the sudden loss of Allan, who was friendly & warm to me during the few times we met. I especially remember fun times dining & entertaining at Genghis Cohen, and a “recording session” at my home, with you & Allan putting on vocals. I believe Toni Wine was there also.

It must be especially difficult for you, due to parting with Allan on bad terms. I, too, wish the article were more about Allan, & I wish you could have included something about your personal feelings having lost him, rather than just music business memories. I know your extreme physical difficulty in typing. But I also know your sadness and regrets from our recent phone conversation. Unfortunately, few others do.

Artie,
I am very sad to hear this news of your old friend, Allan. Art and I send our sincere condolences and hope you find comfort in your memories of better times with him.
Sending you love and light,
Robin and Art

Artie,
Allan was a funny, smart, complicated, honest soul. I treasure the memories of knowing him, thanks to your bringing him into my life. I’ll never forget his common sense humor, the Super Bowl games at his West Hollywood apartment, the Thanksgiving we all spent together sharing “turkey tartare” as the pilot was out on the stove, and so many other times. Our last conversations were good, and I was happy to hear him, after so many years of disbelief, share with me his faith in God. Perhaps all those spiritual arguments paid off!
There is a wonderful poem The Ship of Life by Baker, which I add here. Perhaps you could put up Sending My Good Thoughts To You, which we co-wrote for Jim Croce, as Allan is now with so many he knows and loves and is happy with them in the reuniting.
Thank you for this tribute to a good and generous man. Farewell for now old friend and well done! I will see you soon, for as my grandfather, Slimdaddy, said, “Life is all in the wink of an eye.”

THE SHIP OF LIFE
by John T. Baker

Along the shore I spy a ship
As she sets out to sea;
She spreads her sails and sniffs the breeze
And slips away from me.

I watch her fading image shrink,
As she moves on and on,
Until at last she’s but a speck,
Then someone says, “She’s gone.”

Gone where? Gone only from our sight
And from our farewell cries;
That ship will somewhere reappear
To other eager eyes

Allan and I had a parting of the ways many years ago, and I haven’t seen nor spoken to him since, despite reaching out (via Artie) to reconnect,

Regretfully, despite my and Artie’s efforts, Allan and I never spoke again. Now, shocked and saddened to have learned of Allan’s untimely passing, I find myself reflective about the connections and alliances we forge during our lifetimes.

When a friend or love one is taken from us, the wedges that divide will often disappear, giving rise to the broken bonds of bygone days.

Like Artie, I have a plethora of wonderful memories of times spent with Allan, working on many various projects and spending endless days and nights at Genghis Cohen. It’s hard to believe that over thirty years have passed since that day when Allan and I sat at my electronic typewriter, spending several hours creating his legendary eatery’s original menu….

Now, past differences aside, I feel blessed to have known Allan, honored to have called him my friend for many years and, above all, proud to have shared in Allan’s own (culinary) dreams as part of a small group of investors and supporters of the infamous restaurant and hangout that first opened its doors over three decades ago.

May the memory of the man who served up so much delicious food…..and wonderful music…..to so many live on forever in the hearts and minds of all those he touched.

Yesterday, on the last day of Hanukkah 2012 and with Christmas just over a week away, I sat down to record my feelings for this blog. With thoughts of the holidays and all the recent tragedies we have all had to deal with in recent times filling my mind, I struggled to come up with the right words. But soon, images of gloom and despair were replaced by a glowing string of happy faces…..of Allan, Artie and scores of mutual cohorts…..all shining as brilliantly as the brightest holiday lights.

It was then that the lyrics to the classic Hanukkah song came to mind…..

And while we are playing
The candles are burning low.
One for each night, they shed a sweet light,
To remind us of days long ago.
One for each night, they shed a sweet light,
To remind us of days long ago.

this is keith. unlike artie and joe i do not have the skills of wrighting very well, i can only tell you that we all had so many laughs and good times lets forget the rough times and just remember to love each other . allen spent his last week untill two days before he died, at my place. i never knew anything was wrong. if you want to call artie has my number. i truly loved allen and he had his own room at my house. my three kids knew him as uncle allen .and i will really miss him